Conventional auto-identification (auto-id) systems exist for providing an awareness of a status, identity, or location of each of a plurality of items. For example, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags may be attached to each of a plurality of items, so that RFID readers may be used to detect the tags, and thereby provide information about the items that may be used in, for example, tracking the items between and among manufacturing, warehouse, and retail sales environments.
Such item tracking systems may provide many advantages in, for example, making, shipping, storing, and selling items. For example, items in a retail store may be automatically tracked as they are moved from a shelf and/or transported out of the store by purchasing customers. Then, software associated with the auto-id system may determine that additional units of the items should be re-located from storage (or re-ordered from a manufacturer) to replace the sold item(s) on the shelf.
An advantage of such auto-id systems typically lies in the fact that auto-id tags attached to the items are very small and relatively inexpensive. Accordingly, the auto-id tags are not typically designed to provide extensive information about the items to which they are attached. As a result, it may be difficult to derive or determine certain types of information about the items. Accordingly, conventional auto-id systems may not be able to provide desired information, and/or may be prone to experiencing system exceptions, inconsistencies, or other malfunctions.